Who is Alvin Tostig?

According to Elton John, Alvin Tostig is the Grandfather of ‘Jesus’ in the song ‘Levon’ His lyrics in the song indicate:

Levon wears his war wound like a crown.
He calls his child Jesus
because he likes the name
and he sends him to the finest school in town.

Levon, Levon likes his money.
He makes a lot they say.
Spend his days counting in a garage by the motorway.

He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day
when the New York Times said God is dead
and The War’s Begun.Alvin Tostig has a son today.

And he shall be Levon and he shall be a good man.
And he shall be Levon in tradition with the family plan.
And he shall be Levon and he shall be a good man. He shall be Levon.

Levon sells cartoon balloons in town,
his family business thrives.
Jesus blows up balloons all day,
sits on the porch swing watching them fly.
And Jesus, he wants to go to Venus,
leave Levon far behind.
Take a balloon and go sailing while Levon,
Levon slowly dies.

He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day
when the New York Times said God is dead
and The War’s Begun.
Alvin Tostig has a son today.

And he shall be Levon and he shall be a good man.
And he shall be Levon in tradition with the family plan.
And he shall be Levon and he shall be a good man. He shall be Levon

So, if we look at the lyrics, and understand that Alvin Tostig had a son, and he shall be Levon, who from the second line in the song, we see that Levon calls his son Jesus, and thus Alvin Tostig is Jesus’ grandfather.

It is widely believed that the song was inspired by Levon Helm, who was the lead singer and founder of ‘The Band’, another popular group from the 60′s and 70′s. The lyrics were written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and Bernie claims that the name is purely fictitious. There is however a history of the name Tostig, who was the Earl of Wessex in the early 1040′s, and coincidentally, Wessex is where Bernie Taupin is from.